Meenakshi Temple
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple' is a historic Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva (in the form of Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord) and his consort, Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi). The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. This temple has a stunning architecture and a significant testimony for Vishwakarma Brahmins for their master architecture in sculpting this temple.This was a frontrunner in the election for the modern [seven wonders of the world] for its architectural importance.The complex houses 12 magnificent gopurams or towers that are elaborately sculptured and painted. (As of December 2008, the temple gopurams are covered in scaffolding which completely obscures them from view.) The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is believed to have been built only recently in the early 17th century.
History
Mythology
According to Hindu legend, Shiva came down to earth in the form of Sundareswarar to marry Meenakshi, an incarnation of [Parvati]. Parvati had earlier descended to earth in the form of a small child in response to the great penance of Malayadwaja Pandya, the ruler of Madurai. After growing up to adulthood, she began ruling the city. The Lord appeared on earth and proposed to her. The marriage was supposed to be the biggest event on earth, with the whole earth gathering near Madurai. [Vishnu], the brother of Minakshi, was traveling to preside over the marriage from his holy abode at Vaikuntam. Due to a divine play, he was tricked by god [Indra] and delayed on the way. Meanwhile, the marriage was presided over by a local god [Koodal Azhaghar]. This angered Lord Vishnu, and he swore never to enter the city, settling on the outskirts at a beautiful hill called [Alagar Koil]. He was later appeased by other gods, and he proceeded to bless the divine couple - Shiva and Parvati.
Both the marriage and the Vishnu's pacification are still celebrated as the biggest festival in Madurai, called [Chithirai Thiruvizha] also called as Azhakar Thiruvizha (the festival for the Beautiful Lord).This temple was built on the basis of Tamilnadu's largest Shiva temple Nellaiappar Temple], [Tirunelveli].Another legend says that Shiva's idol, in the form of the [lingam], was discovered by the God of heaven, Indra, who built the original temple. This tradition is still followed in the temple - the deity is accompanied by a model of Indra's vehicle, during festive processions.Indra who was suffering from Bramakarthi dosam was traveling in a Puspavimanam over a KadambaVanam(Forest full of Kadamba Tree), suddenly his dosam got relieved. He got down there and saw a Siva Lingam & a tank full of lotus. He worshiped the god there and placed his vehicle Iravatam(White Elephant) as a pillar and constructed the shrine of sundereswar. The White elephants are still visible on the side walls of the swami srine. Kadamba Tree is the Stalavirutchan(Tree of the Temple).
Modern History
The history of the original structure is not properly known, but Tamil literature speaks about the temple for the last couple of millennia. [Thirugnanasambandar], the famous Hindu saint of [Shaiva] philosophy, has mentioned this temple as early as the 7th century, and describes the Lord as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple was believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by [Arya Natha Mudaliyar] , the Prime Minister of the first Nayak of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.), the founder of 'Poligar System'. Then came the most valuable contributions of Thirumalai Nayak circa 1623 to 1659. He took considerable interest in erecting the Vasantha Mandapa of the temple complex.
The temple structure
The complex is in around 45 acres (180,000 m2) and the temple is a massive structure measuring 254 by 237 meters. The temple is surrounded by 12 towers, the tallest of which, the famous Southern tower, rises to over 170 ft (52 m) high.[1]
Shrines
The Shiva shrine lies at the centre of the complex, suggesting that the ritual dominance of the goddess developed later. The Shiva shrine also consists of an unusual sculpture of the Hindu god [Nataraja]. This famous Hindu marquee and a dancing form of Shiva that normally has his left foot raised, has his right foot raised in this temple. According to the legend, this is on the request of the Rajasekara Pandya king who asked the Lord to change his position, as he felt that always keeping a single foot raised will pose enormous stress on that, based on his personal experiments in dancing. This massive Nataraja sculpture is enclosed in a huge silver altar and hence called Velli Ambalam (Silver abode). Outside the Shrine, lies huge scultptures carved of single stone and there is a shrine for a giant Ganesh temple, called the Mukuruny Vinayakar. This idol is believed to have been found during an excavation process to dig the temple lake. The Meenkashi shrine is on the left of the [Shiva]shrine and is of scultpturally less valuable than the Shiva shrine.
The lake Porthamarai
Porthamarai Kulam, the sacred pond inside the temple, is a very holy site for devotees. People go around the 165 ft (50 m) by 120 ft (37 m)[2] lake before entering the main shrine. The name means the Pond with the Golden Lotus, and the lotus that grows in it has a golden color. According to legend, Lord Shiva promised a stork that no fish or other marine life would grow here and thus no marine animals are found in the lake.[3] In the Tamil legends, the lake is supposed to be a judge for judging a worth of a new literature. Thus, authors place their works here and the poorly written works are supposed to sink and the scholastic ones are supposed to float.[4][2]
Thousand Pillar Hall
Thousand Pillar hall of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built with the oldest Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunleveli[5] as a model. The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam or Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars. It is considered culturally important and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Thousand Pillared Hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569[6]. He was the Prime Minister and General of Viswanatha Nayak of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.). He was also the founder of Poligar System, the quasi-feudal organization of the country, which was divided into multiple palayams or small provinces and each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief[7]. At the entrance of the Mandapam, we can still see his statue; the majestic pose of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a beautiful horse-back which flanks one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is still periodically crowned with garlands by modern worshippers[6]. Each pillar is carved and is a monument of the Dravidian sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the 1200 years old history are displayed. Just outside this mandapam, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note. The kalyana mandapa, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April.
Festivals
The most important festival associated with the temple is the Meenakshi Thirukalyanam (The divine marriage of Meenkashi) that is celebrated in April every year. During that one month period, in which most Tamil Nadu temples celebrate their annual festivals, there are a number of events including the Ther Thiruvizhah (Chariot festival) and Theppa Thiruvizhah (Float festival) are celebrated. Apart from this, major Hindu festivals like Navrathri, Shivrathri are celebrated in a grand manner. Like most Shakti temples in Tamil Nadu, the Fridays during the Tamil months of Aadi (July 15 - Aug 17) and Thai (Jan 15 to Feb 15) are popularly celebrated with thousands of devotees thronging to the temple.
Current Status
The towers of the temple are currently (March 2009) covered in scaffolding for repainting and might remain so for some time though there are reports that the work could be completed as early as April 2009. Temple craftsmen have to abstain from a number of vices to be eligible to undertake the work.
The temple consecretion (Kumbabishekam) is taking place on Wednesday, April 8, 2009.
References
- ^ "Madurai.com - The meenakshi temple".
- ^ a b "MAKING OF THE MAGNIFICENT TEMPLE DEDICATED TO MEENAKSHI SUNDERESWARAR".
- ^ "Temple theertham".
- ^ "Sanga Thamizh".
- ^ "Tirunleveli Nellaiappar Temple".
- ^ a b History&Description of Sri Meenakshi Temple: By T. G. S. Balaram Iyer, T. R. Rajagopalan - Meenakshi Temple - 1977 - 42 pages
- ^ Saints, Goddesses and Kings By Susan Bayly
External links
- Official site
- About.com article
- Dravidian Temple Architecture - Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai
- Read Useful Details about Meenakshi Temple
- Indhistory page